How to Encounter a Polar Bear in the Heart of Gwanghwamun

Ministry of Culture and Korea Creative Content Agency Install ㄱ-Shaped Media Canvas 'Gwanghwa Mural' on History Museum Exterior
81m Wide, 9.7m High...Anamorphic Illusion Applied to Create 3D Effect
Thirteen Public Media Art Pieces Broadcast Daily, Bringing New Vitality to History, Culture, and Arts Hub
Content Produced by Dexter Studio and Dotmill: "We Want to Deliver Fun to Citizens"

Animal Times

A polar bear has arrived at Gwanghwamun in Seoul. It can be seen through the glass exterior wall, staying in a hotel penthouse. Sitting on a swivel chair, it spins around and watches TV. When the TV accidentally turns off, it seems startled and collapses on the floor. Feeling embarrassed, it scratches its head, and when it makes eye contact with people outside, it quickly turns its head away.

The playful and cute behavior can be seen on the 'ㄱ'-shaped media canvas installed on the exterior wall of the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency. This is the ultra-large LED platform called 'Gwanghwa Mural' that transforms a flat surface into a three-dimensional space.

With a massive screen measuring 81 meters wide and 9.7 meters tall, it broadcasts thirteen public media art pieces daily. Most of them apply the 'Anamorphic illusion' technique, which creates a sense of depth through optical illusions. It breathes new life into Gwanghwamun, the center of history, culture, and art.

'Animal Times' Draft

'Animal Times' Draft

Ku Kyung-bon, head of the Immersive Content Promotion Division at the Korea Creative Content Agency, who led the 'Gwanghwa Mural' project, said, "After long consultations with content companies and media art experts, we prepared content that highlights the character of Gwanghwamun while maintaining public accessibility," adding, "Each piece is outstanding in immersion and popularity."

The content featuring the polar bear is titled 'Animal Times.' It was produced by Dexter Studio, known for realistically rendering living, breathing fur. Yoon Nam-gyu, head of the Business Operations Team at Dexter Studio's Immersive Content Division, explained, "We wanted to bring fun to citizens passing through Gwanghwamun with the polar bear's cute appearance," and "To avoid the feeling of being trapped, we anthropomorphized the polar bear and set the space as a hotel."

'Gwanghwa Chronicle'

Dexter Studio also produced 'Gwanghwa Chronicle,' the flagship content of 'Gwanghwa Mural.' It arranges historical events centered around Gwanghwamun in the form of statues like the Admiral Yi Sun-sin statue or King Sejong statue. Each era is symbolically condensed and connected, allowing intuitive understanding of the content. This includes the construction of the capital by Yi Seong-gye and Jeong Do-jeon, King Seonjo's flight and the people's struggle, the national humiliation of 1910 and the establishment of the Japanese Governor-General's Office, the independence movement led by the March 1st Movement, rapid industrialization and growth, and national unity represented by the 2002 World Cup cheering.

Yoon said, "We initially planned to show national treasures like the Ban'gasa-yu statue as bronze statues but shifted to a narrative centered on space that revisits Gwanghwamun's history along with its surrounding scenery," adding, "We faithfully verified historical records and consulted experts to draw a timeline from the past to the present."

'Gwanghwa Clock Tower'

'Gwanghwa Clock Tower'

Dexter Studio also digitally shaped national treasure-level artifacts. One example is the 'Gwanghwa Clock Tower,' inspired by the Honcheonui, the first mechanical clock in East Asia made by Song Yi-young in 1669 during King Hyeonjong's reign in Joseon. It applied the principle of Western-style alarm clocks but used a weight instead of water as the power source for the clock mechanism. The wheel frame rotated on a horizontal plane to reveal the time plates through a window.

Dexter Studio interpreted the central orb (the Earth) as a pinball and structured the story in a game format. They reconstructed the parts of the Honcheonui and traditional elements like an amusement park, making the orb arrive at the Honcheonui on the hour. Yoon said, "We wanted to create content that delivers both visual appeal and information to citizens," and "We hope it becomes a digital clock tower representing Gwanghwamun, like Big Ben in the UK."

'Gwanghwa Object'

Another symbolic content for Gwanghwamun is the 'Gwanghwa Object.' It shows various lights expressed in Korea through cubes. It represents the brilliant light of culture with rainbow-colored light passing through a prism.

Jung Hae-woon, CEO of Dotmill, explained, "We subdivided the abstract concept of Korean culture into various categories such as film, music, drama, and traditional culture," adding, "Through scattered light, we aimed to indicate the energy of the Korean Wave spreading worldwide."

'Living Monster'

Dotmill also created the 'Living Monster,' which captivates citizens' eyes. The motif is Cheongu (天狗), a celestial dog recognized as a monster in the Samguk Yusa. It is described as occasionally falling from the sky to the ground, with a jar-sized head and a long tail that emits light. Based on this brief description, Dotmill devised the fantasy character 'Cheongu' in animation form. It depicts Cheongu waking up and marveling at the light from its own tail while chasing it.

CEO Jung said, "While considering content that instantly captures the attention of citizens passing through Gwanghwamun and brings joy, we recalled the antics of Korean yokai," adding, "We repeatedly used computer simulations to minimize the margin of error in the optical illusion effect and maximize the sense of depth."

Based on sophisticated technology, Dotmill will unveil 'Lunapol,' the world's largest meta-park (approximately 120,000 pyeong) in Seogwipo, Jeju Island, this July. A meta-park is an O2O (online-to-offline) theme park platform combining the metaverse and offline experiences.

Yoo Nam-gyu, Head of Business Operations Team, Dexter Studio Immersive Content Division

Jeong Haeun, CEO of Dotmill

CEO Jung stated, "Since media art is fundamentally digital, implementing it online in the metaverse is not particularly difficult," and "Mixed reality content using digital twins and other technologies could be the future of media art." Director Ku also said, "Once the metaverse is commercialized, the media art market will grow larger," adding, "Most related companies are beginning to focus their businesses in similar directions."

The key to popularization is securing intellectual property (IP). Having captivating characters or stories is essential to accelerate business. For this reason, multiple companies, including Dexter Studio, have recently been devoted to developing various IPs.

Director Ku said, "As media art exhibition experiences increase, the importance of related IP has grown," adding, "The business scope has also expanded, and related companies are trying to create venues or channels for collaboration." He added, "I hope 'Gwanghwa Mural' becomes an opportunity to expand beyond a simple exhibition into another creative domain."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.